Shi Yongxin, abbot of the Shaolin Temple, walks to breakfast at Shaolin Temple on April 6, 2005 by Cancan Chu/Getty Images
The head of China’s Shaolin Temple, the fabled birthplace of kung fu and Zen Buddhism, has been placed under investigation for alleged criminal offenses, according to the monastery.
Shi Yongxin, who held the abbot’s position for more than 25 years, was suspected of “embezzling and misappropriating project funds and temple assets,” the temple’s authority said in a July 27 statement on its official WeChat account.
